The Los Angeles County Museum of Art LACMA explores the art of one of America’s early modernist masters, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, in the first in-depth retrospective of his work. On view to the public Color, Myth and Music: Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Synchromism examines the evolution of his art from his important Synchromist works, continuing with his masterful Asian-influenced paintings, and offering a selection of the stunning synchromies painted in the final years of his life. The exhibition includes more than 60 works spanning six decades.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art LACMA explores the art of one of America’s early modernist masters, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, in the first in-depth retrospective of his work. On view to the public Color, Myth and Music: Stanton
Macdonald-Wright and Synchromism examines the evolution of his art from his important Synchromist works, continuing with his masterful Asian-influenced paintings, and offering a selection of the stunning synchromies painted in the final years of his life. The exhibition includes more than 60 works spanning six decades.
Among his many accomplishments, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, along with fellow American painter
Morgan Russell, fathered the Synchromism movement. Convinced that color and sound were equivalent
phenomena and that one could "orchestrate" the colors in a painting the way a composer arranged
notes and chords in a musical composition, they developed a system of painting based on color scales.
The system entailed constructing form and depth in a painting through advancing and reducing hues.
Their ensuing "synchromies" were some of the first abstract non-objective paintings in American art.
LACMA’s permanent collection includes more than 110,000 works spanning the history of art from
ancient times to the present, making it the premier encyclopedic visual arts museum in the western
United States. The museum uses its collection and resources to provide a variety of educational,
aesthetic, intellectual and cultural experiences for its visitors. In addition, LACMA offers an
ever-changing series of outstanding special exhibitions of the work of the world’s leading artists, as well
as lectures, classes, family activities, film programs and musical events.
LACMA Curator: Ilene Susan Fort, curator, American Art department, Los Angeles County Museum of
Art.
Credit Line: This exhibition was organized by the North Carolina Museum of Art.
Catalogue: Accompanying the exhibition is a fully illustrated catalogue by Will South, with
contributions by exhibition coordinator John W. Coffey, chair of the curatorial department and curator
of American and modern art at the North Carolina Museum of Art; William C. Agee, professor emeritus at
Hunter College of City University of New York; and Marlene Park, professor emerita at John Jay College
and the Graduate School of CUNY.
Museum Hours: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday noon 8 pm; Friday noon 9 pm; Saturday and
Sunday 11 am 8 pm; closed Wednesday. Call (323) 857-6000
General LACMA Admission: Adults $7; students 18+ with ID and senior citizens 62+ $5; children/younger
students $1; children 5 and under are admitted free. The second Tuesday of every month is free to all.